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[faceguy]

Hello? Hello? ...Ah-ha, just kidding! Leave a message after the beepity beep~

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[levelshift]

At this fucking rate you're both going to get downgraded to Idiot #1 and Idiot #2, and you can fight over who's #1.

[These two gremlins. This is one of those rare times he actually wishes he could remember his real name.]

They have comics at the library.

[He knows this!! He's looked!

He'll send the address along to them, noting all of this.]

I think I can get blueprints of the place.

[Honestly, what good is having membership with the Society if he can't pull a few building layouts? He thinks on the rest of this a moment, then adds:]

I should be control the vectors to any soundwaves to negate them, but only for as long as my choker's battery lasts. [He's never actually used his ability to make himself soundless before, but it seems like a natural extension of being able to reflect incoming soundwaves so it shouldn't be a big deal. That's about the only thing he's sure about though, because Donnie, as smarmy as his comment is, is right. If he could rely on his power for a full hour or two it'd be no problem, but without it....] But the upgrade will only last in esper mode for thirty minutes. My crutch might be an issue too, it's noisy and sticks out.

[faceguy]

ive been called worse

[If they are both in the apartment right now Leo is going to yell through the wall “YES I WILL GET YOU A LIBRARY CARD, PIZZA SUPREME IN THE SKY!!” but otherwise he will just text the same sentiment back.]

wait they have comics in the library
like, for free?

[Why didn’t anyone ever tell him?? (Actually Donnie probably did and he just tuned it out.)]

do you have to use all your juice at once or can you split it up?
thirty minutes may be doable if you only use it when needed

never had to get someone using a crutch through a stealth mish but there’s a first time for everything

we’ll figure it out

[They are an accessibility compliant ninja clan.]

Donnie’s probably right that we should do a test run though

[purplexing]

That would take effort on your part to actually edit your contact list.

[The sudden yell has him jump a bit, but Donnie supposes he should have expected that. ANd of course he's going to holler back at the wall. "GOOD! STILL NOT GETTING OUT OF A LIBRARY TRIP!" why are they like this]

Applying it only when necessary will definitely cut down on the battery drain. Will it make a difference if you reduce the area of effect?

Getting around noisy hardware shouldn't be hard to figure out.

There's lots of abandoned places we can use. It'll be easier to see how you'd apply your vectors and what we'll need to keep in mind with your crutch that way.

[levelshift]

Ugh, nevermind.

[Damnit, Donnie. He doesn't want to put effort into this.]

Yes, free as long as you return them on time.

[Thankfully spared the sibling yelling, he's half-expecting to learn Leo is just dunking on him again.]

I can split the time up, but I can't reduce the processing power to save any battery, it only has the two modes and off.

[This is frustrating, though. If he didn't have the brain injury he's sure he'd be able to keep up just fine.]

Fine. I'm free whenever.

[faceguy]

fine whatever
ill go on your stupid library trip

[So that is a thing that is going to happen, apparently. But Leo is much more interested in this law breaking right now!]

alright, we'll scout out a place and set up a time

get us those blueprints and we'll start thinking about the way we want to go about this too

also I know I don't have to tell either of you this bcuz youd never do that to me
but if either of you tell huv or the alliance about this

[purplexing]

Okay. So we'll stick to figuring out when to best apply it then to conserve power.

I am shocked and offended you feel the need to include me in that threat.

[Not really but regardless, he'd be in just as much hot water as Leo if word got around.]

[levelshift]

All of that works.

[Is that a threat? Is that really a threat?

Wow, Accelerator is realizing it's been a hot second since he's received one of those, even if it probably isn't all that serious. He has to laugh, and he isn't sure if that's sad or not.]

I'm fucking terrified. My lips are sealed.

-> action, a few days later~

[faceguy]

[It's not serious. Though he would really like to keep getting paid.]

alright. let's go team!

[And then, a few days later, he sends Accelerator the address of an abandoned building he and Donnie scoped out that is not smack dab in the middle of gang activity. What used to be a big industrial building, now only really used by squatters and for drug deals, though empty of everyone but them for now.

(Though Leo has been on a heightened lookout for gangs lately, he'd rather not deal with them while they're trying to train someone who's never done stealth before how to do it.)

He's moving around the space with masking tape, marking out walls for some of the area they'll have to traverse to get through the recycling plant, to use as a guide for training.

This is more than he's ever done for the sake of training, but he's turning over a new leaf and all that.]

Man, this is kind of a pain...

[Doesn't mean he won't grumble a bit, though.]

[purplexing]

[He can only use the 'who are you and what have you done with Leo' joke so many times. But while his brother's setting up shop, Donnie keeps an eye out for any unexpected visitors. ...in between playing with his phone.]

Seriously. I didn't think you were going all out with tape.

[Honestly he's a little impressed. He knows Raph would be.]

[levelshift]

[Accelerator isn't sure what to expect outside the location being rundown and sketchy, something he's already used to thanks to the Level 6 Shift experiment taking place in back alleys and trainyards. This isn't going to be like that, though, so it's fine. It's just nice to get out of the hospital - the installation of the new choker went fine, but those places are always so unpleasant.

He'll be wandering in at the agreed upon time, casual as ever, like it isn't a big deal for some kids to be hanging out in an abandoned industrial building. Making his way in the direction of Leo and Donnie's voices, he pauses when he gets to the part of the building they're in.]

Yo.

[faceguy]

[Is it a big deal? It's not like Leo and Donnie have never done it before, even at younger ages.

...Then again, their childhood wasn't exactly standard.]

You know, I'm really starting to think you don't think I can- oh, hey.

[Accelerator appearing cuts his argument short, and he straightens up and grins.]

Welcome to our ninja training dojo! Or something.

[purplexing]

[Donnie actually looks up from his phone as he hears Accelerator's approach, even as he starts working on his retort once Leo starts speaking. Inwardly he's glad to be saved the trouble.

His expression unintentionally matches Leo's then as he looks over at their esper...buddy? Acquaintance?]

Best we could do anyway. You ready for a crash course in Ninja 101?

[levelshift]

[Nothing good has ever come of people grinning before an experiment starts. Nope.

Accelerator just sighs outwardly though, rolling his right shoulder.]

I've been in worse places. [For real.] Let's get this over with. What's first?

[faceguy]

[What does he mean, these are trustworthy faces!]

Well, we should probably get a feel for what we're working with. So how about we have you try to sneak up on one of us?

[Leo already knows he won't be successful (or he and Donnie are really bad at their jobs), but the point is to get a feel for how Accelerator moves and what would make this the easiest for him.]

Wanna play target, Dee?

[purplexing]

[Completely trustworthy! If Accelerator's worried about this experiment then how's he going to act when he's actually being volunteered for anything else? Er-]

Well I suppose I could do that.

[Donnie looks around, figuring they should start off easy. He starts towards what's left of a dividing wall, stepping around it, already tapping at his phone as he goes.]

[levelshift]

Fine.

[He's literally done this only once before, and it had been with a group of normal adult humans in an environment over which he had complete control. It had gone well (read: they were all extremely dead), but Accelerator isn't going to kid himself here. He has no idea what he's doing.

Still, he doesn't show it as he moves to set his crutch up against the wall. Then there's a slight pause as he realizes something.]

Goddamnit. [He's cursing under his breath before raising his voice.] Neither of you should try to touch me when my esper mode is on. Not unless you want broken limbs.

[Oh boy, this is the first time he's ever bothered to give anyone warning about his reflection. People either know because they're scientists experimenting on him or don't because they're random assholes whose wellbeing he could care less about.

(Not that he cares right now, obviously. Of course. It would just be a huge pain to everyone here if he sent one of them to the hospital because he wasn't careful enough. That's all.)

He hits the switch on his choker. There's a little beep as the light changes from green to red, and a heightened strength hits his body as his brain automatically starts calculating.

It's not even a second later and he's shooting like a bullet over to Donnie. Remembering the conversation before he'll at least manipulate the vectors of his sound waves so there's no bang when he does this, but he's still leaving cracks in the cement flooring from his launch point.

Thankfully, he lands lightly on the other side of the separating wall instead of just going through it, again altering his gravitational vectors to act as if he's sticking to it before trying to skirt around it. There's absolutely no technique to any of his movements, either. He's just going from point A to point B.]

[faceguy]

[Alright, well, he’s fast, Leo will give him that. He is slightly worried about the structural integrity of the building now, though.]

I don’t know if I can call what you just did “sneaking”… At least it was quiet?

[He’ll wait for Donnie to give an assessment of what that looked like from his end.]

[purplexing]

[Donnie just happens to catch him mid-selfie.

He cranes his head around as Accelerator makes his appearance, just slightly startled.]

Uh, yeah, definitely not sneaking. If this were a "get the drop on people" type exercise then okay, sure, could work I guess.

Look, the sound dampening is cool and all but this isn't a race and we can't just leave a trail of bodies around, we're trying to be discreet.

[levelshift]

[Structural integrity of buildings has never, ever been at the forefront of Accelerator's mind, and it sure as hell isn't something he's considering right now.

God, he has to work to keep his face totally neutral at that trail of bodies remark. He drops down from the wall, hits the switch on his choker, and leans back against it as he shoves his hands into the pockets of his jeans.]

Okay, then what? [What the hell does he know about stealth techniques?] ... Stick to the shadows?

[He had done that after Hound Dog cut off the lights in the recycling facility, but that was while he was psychologically torturing them so they were too preoccupied to notice him wandering around slowly....]

[faceguy]

Yep! That's lesson one!

[Leo has come around to join them by now, leaning casually against the wall.]

Lesson two: blind spots. Lesson three: light as a feather. Lesson four: slow motion jutsu. Lesson five: blend into your environment.

[Behold, the training of the Hamato clan.]

The shadows in here are in the wrong spots for an actual test run, but we'll make it work. [Leo sweeps a hand at the tape he's put down.] I laid out approximately where walls and rooms we'll have to deal with are, so maybe this time we can try without you leaving a giant hole in the building.

[He means both the theoretical tape building and also this building, the one they're standing in, which he would rather not have collapse on his head.]

[purplexing]

[The other turtle nods along sagely as Leo goes over the rest. Ah, the nostalgia of simpler times.]

-what's this about giant holes? Yeah, that's not going to fly. This is a stealth retrieval operation, not an operation takedown.

[levelshift]

[Well, all of those lessons sound like logical ninja techniques instead of some inane bullshit he has no hope of picking up. Yay?]

I never saw much reason to tone down an ability that's only good for destruction before.

[Which is less of a complaint and more a statement of fact. It's really only in the last couple months that he's started exploring its uses beyond "break shit" and "protect himself." So hey, new territory and everything.

Accelerator clicks his tongue and looks around.]

This looks like it was a lot of effort. [The only people he's seen this kind of effort from were scientists intent on running their experiments or a couple of really hardworking assassins, so this is a little weird for him.]

[faceguy]

[Leo lights up in a smile immediately.]

Thanks! You know, I’m doing this new thing called “actually trying” and it’s doing wonders for my productivity.

[He says it like a joke but it’s a little too close to genuine.

Anyway, he is… at least a little aware that Donnie thinks this is weird and now Accelerator sounds like he thinks it’s weird and he doesn’t want to dwell too long on either reaction.]

I don’t think your abilities are only good for destruction, though… Like the sound dampening, that has to have a lot of uses!

[purplexing]

[Donnie manages not to give Leo a Look at that, turning instead to regard the lines of tape. He nods as he considers Accelerator's abilities.]

It's all in the application. Your use of vector calculations isn't limited to a singular thing, you just have to look at how the key components of your chosen force of manipulation can be used to your advantage.

Also, you don't actually have to rely on your abilities all the time. Especially in your case when you're operating on a personal time limit. The environment can work for you- see lesson one and five.

And as great as it might seem to finish things up fast, sometimes it's better to take it slow. You draw less attention that way, and it'll be easier to pay attention to everything else around you and adjust too.

[levelshift]

[Accelerator has to let out a little scoff. That sounds like a joke to him and this is probably the closest he's come to laughing since he's been here.]

Shit, you two almost sound like you know what you're talking about.

[That's a joke, he's joking, they're obviously well-versed in stealth missions, and even though vector manipulation is likely new to both of them it's kind of cool hearing how easily they can consider getting creative with it.

It's also a little unnerving, because they really should be acting more cautious with it. Or at least be less optimistic about the whole it can do more than just destroy things angle. If someone from Academy City heard them talking they'd probably be looking at the turtle like they'd grown second heads or something.]

How'd you two learn all this crap, anyways?